White Blank Page
by SnarkyFanGirl
Summary: After wasting 3 years of his life trapped in a loveless marriage, Edward Cullen is looking to begin his life again.
1. Chapter 1

**Epov**

It had been three years. Three roller-coaster, up and down, push and pull years. We were currently in the middle of what felt like a massive down swing, but I couldn't be sure – sometimes the things that I thought were bad were good for her, and when I thought something was good, it turned out to be disastrous. I frowned when her voice, sharp with aggravation (what else was new?), penetrated my thoughts.

"Edward, were you even _listening_ to me?" She demanded, smacking the table with her open palm. I watched as some of the liquid sloshed out of my glass, and I sighed.

"Sorry," I breathed, pushing my glasses back up on the bridge of my nose – a habit that I knew she loathed, since she loathed my glasses. I had taken to wearing them more than my contacts lately, just to provoke her. "You were saying?"

"Jesus, Edward," she swore, rolling her eyes and turning her face away from me.

"What?" I took a long pull from my glass of water. I watched as she downed the rest of her chardonnay and turned her eyes back to me. I braced myself for whatever she was about to say – and I was sure it wouldn't be good, judging on the way her eyes narrowed.

"I just sat here and told you that I'm leaving you, and you weren't even paying attention." I stared at her silently for a minute, wrapping my head around her words. Well… so much for being in the middle of the down swing – we'd hit the bottom. "Really? You have nothing at all to say? You look mildly bored."

"What'd you expect, Tanya?" I managed finally. "Did you expect me to collapse in tears and beg you not to go?" When her lip curled up into a sneer, I realized that probably _had_ been what she wanted. She wasn't going to get that from me – she hadn't broken me yet.

"I should've known you wouldn't even care," she remarked acidly, reaching for her purse. She grabbed it and stood. "I'm going to stay with a friend for a while. I'll call and let you know when I'm coming to get my things."

I didn't say anything else, and I refused to look when she walked away with a huff. I wondered if the word 'friend' was code for 'lover.' Not that it bothered me at all – I'd suspected for several months now that someone else had been warming her bed, since I hadn't laid a hand on her in nearly six months. She rarely slept at home, only returning for a fresh set of clothes every morning before heading out to work. When she actually deigned to return home in the evenings, I'd made sure that I was scarce. If I didn't spend any time around her, we didn't argue. I hated confrontations – hated the inevitable fights that followed her return home from work to find me relaxing on the sofa.

I waved the waiter over and ordered a beer from their tap, a luxury I hadn't indulged in for nearly two years. Tanya didn't like the smell of the drink, and claimed she didn't like to taste it on me when she kissed me, so I'd stopped drinking it. I don't know why I hadn't started drinking it again when she'd put a stop to our intimate relationship – I suppose I was still holding out some hope at that point. Then again, I hadn't kissed her for months before we'd stopped having sex.

As I enjoyed my first sip of beer in two years, I realized that I should probably be crying, or raging, or something. Any kind of emotion would probably have been more proper than the mixture of emptiness and mild relief that I felt. My wife of two and a half years had just upped and walked away, with basically no excuse whatsoever. I found that I didn't really care. I did wonder vaguely if she'd want the condo – god knows I didn't want it; I hadn't wanted it when we'd moved in.

Perhaps my emotions would fare better if I had a plan? I wasn't sure. The thought suddenly struck me, however, that I was free – not just free of a wife, but also free of the person who'd forbidden me to spend time with my friends, and had kept me away from my beloved parents. I whipped out my cell phone and dialed.

"Dude!" my brother always sounded drunk. I smiled broadly. I hadn't spoken to Emmett in almost a year because of Tanya. "Is everything okay? You're not dying, are you?"

"Emmett," I laughed, taking a quick drink of the beer in front of me. I wasn't sure how to phrase it, so I just blurted it out. "I'm a free man!" There was a brief silence that left me feeling confused. "Emmett?"

"You didn't … you didn't _do_ anything, did you, Edward?" he asked hesitantly. I took a long pull from my glass and rolled my eyes before answering him.

"Nope, just sat here and watched her trampy ass walk away."

"Well, hot damn!" he exclaimed. I felt my face crack into a grin as he yelled. "Where the hell are you at? It's time to celebrate!"

"I'm at the Gray Goose," I said, reaching for the beer. "And I've already started without you."

"Hang on – I'm gonna call Jasper and we'll be there in ten."

It seemed like I'd been sitting there for hours when someone finally slid into the booth across from me. I looked up and saw my brother and my best friend both staring expectantly at me, shit-eating grins on both of their faces, and I felt my mouth turn up in an answering smile.

"It's been too damned long," Jasper said, waving the waitress over.

"That bitch is really gone? For good this time?" Emmett clarified. This had happened more than once. Tanya always ran hot and cold, and she'd left me a number of times only to come back days later. The last time she'd left me was the last time I'd been allowed to see my brother – she stated that I needed to stay away from him because he was such a bad influence on me, and that I was a different person around him. Different person, I wasn't so sure about – happier person, definitely.

"Absolutely," I said, raising my empty beer glass in a salute. Jasper snorted.

"Thank fuck," he said, shaking his head. Emmett grinned at the waitress who approached our table. "I don't know if I ever told you or not, Edward, but I fucking hated that bitch."

I laughed.

"A round of Heinekens for me and my friends," Emmett said, grinning. "And keep 'em coming – we're making up for lost time!" The waitress, a decent looking redhead with a too-short skirt, batted her eyelashes and smiled.

"Sure thing." Emmett watched her walk away, blatantly ogling her ass. I laughed again. Some things never changed.

"Ten bucks says I get her number before our third round," he said, turning to me and Jasper. Jasper rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"You're on – but remember that our boy here is back on the market – I have a feeling that he's gonna get lucky tonight."

"If I did, it'd be the first time in almost a year," I muttered, glancing away from them.

"Holy shit, dude!" Emmett thundered. "Seriously? Tanya's a raging bitch, but she was always pretty open about the bedroom. She doesn't seem like someone who'd go without for long."

"She didn't," was all I said, watching as the waitress returned and placed our drinks on the table. She smiled and licked her lips as she straightened up.

"Do you guys need anything else right now?"

"No thanks," Jasper said, giving her a polite – but dismissive- smile. I picked up my beer bottle and frowned when I glanced down. I picked up the napkin my drink had been on and snorted, turning it around to show Emmett.

"Her name is Victoria," I said, arching an eyebrow and throwing the napkin with the phone number on it at him. Jasper threw his head back and laughed. Emmett frowned and lifted his beer bottle, too. Sure enough, her name and number were scribbled on his napkin. He reached over and lifted Jasper's bottle, only to find the exact same thing.

"Fuck," he muttered dejectedly. "What, does she have a stack of these waiting behind the bar, or something?"

"Probably," Jasper laughed, sliding a ten dollar bill over to my brother. "But technically, you still won your bet." Emmett brightened a little bit at this, and pocketed the money.

"Hell yeah, I did."

"Edward, are you sure you're okay?" Jasper finally asked after we'd downed … I don't know, a lot of beers.

"Shit, is this the part of the night where you get all mushy?" Emmett asked, waving his hand at the waitress to indicate that we needed more alcohol. "I'm not drunk enough yet for that kind of shit."

"Shut the hell up, man," Jasper said, though there was no heat behind his words. "It's just… you were with her for three years, and in the beginning I remember you guys were really into each other. I just wanted to know if you maybe wanted to talk about it?" he asked uncertainly.

"When the fuck did you turn into a woman?" Emmett wondered aloud, turning to look at our friend. I laughed – hard and long. It felt great. "Do you have a vagina now, too?"

"Fuck you," Jasper laughed, shoving Emmett. It didn't do much – my brother was a pretty big guy.

"Save that shit for the little woman," Emmett said, smiling as he chugged half of his new beer in one drink. I looked over at Jasper, whose face was red.

"You have a new woman?" I asked, surprised. Jasper surprised me with the shit-eating grin that was so big it threatened to split his face in half.

"Alice," he confirmed. "Fan-fucking-tastic woman. Amazing, in every sense of the word. This woman – there's no words," he gushed. Emmett laughed.

"There's no one woman on the face of the earth that's worth giving up the possibility of all the rest of 'em," Emmett argued. He gestured towards me with his half-empty beer. "Eddie here is proof of that. He gave up everything for three years for that bitch, and what does he have now to show for it? A broken heart, that's what. She could've at least put out for him, and she wouldn't even fuckin' do that!"

"My heart's not broken, Em," I corrected him, my head feeling light. "I would've had to be in love with her for her leaving to have broken my heart."

"Fuck that bitch whore," Emmett swore, shaking his head at me. I laughed. He liked to cuss when he wasn't drunk, but it got worse when he had some alcohol in him. "She tried to take my brother away from me." I stopped laughing and frowned.

"I'm sorry, man. I should've stood up to her more. I'll never ditch you for a woman again," I promised, holding up my beer. He nodded and tapped his bottle against mine, and then we both drank.

"Shit," Jasper breathed, looking down at his watch. He stood on shaky feet. "I need to go – Ali is spending the night. It's been real."

"Pussy whipped," Emmett stage-whispered to me. I laughed. Jasper sighed.

"You just wait, fucker. The love of a good woman is gonna get you when you least expect it – and I'm going to be there, laughing my balls off at you."

"What balls?" Emmett asked. "Obviously Alice already took 'em!" I guffawed and nearly spit my beer out. Jasper glared at Emmett for a minute, and then his expression melted into a lazy smile.

"Mark my words. You'll get yours. See you around, boys." With a wave, he was gone on unsteady feet.


	2. Chapter 2

_for all of my fans – thank you for sticking with me through my dry spell. I promise that __radio romance__ and __absolute beginners__ have not been abandoned, and I have actually already started the next chapter of each of them. This just wouldn't leave my head, so I began it as well. Thanks again for being so faithful!_

**EPOV**

Hundreds of little people had invaded the inside of my skull, and they'd brought pitchforks and hammers with them. At least, that's what it felt like. I cracked an eye open and felt the pitchforks stabbing the back of it before shutting it tightly against the onslaught of sunshine that was pouring in through the windows.

"Wake up, bro!" Emmett boomed cheerfully. I winced against the sound, which made me realize that the little people inside my skull also had jackhammers in their employ. Emmett always had been able to hold his alcohol well – his tolerance had always been higher than mine. I wondered if he even had a slight headache. "The sun is shining and other happy shit like that – I think on your first day of freedom, we need to pay a visit to someone else who misses you."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, a habit that had driven Tanya nuts. I realized that my glasses were no longer on my face, and opened my eyes a bit. I regretted it immediately. Emmett must have been watching me, because his booming laughter filled the space we were in… and I realized that I had no idea where in the hell we were.

"Em, where-"

"We're at my place," he interjected. I heard some soft banging noises, and figured it must be him opening cabinets – unless the sadistic little fuckers inside my skull were actually making me hear things now. I grimaced against the noise, but otherwise didn't move. "You kept babbling some shit about not wanting to go back to your condo because super bitch might be there, so I brought you here."

"Did I actually call her super bitch?" I wondered aloud.

"Yeah, you did," he answered, sounding highly amused. "So go shower – bathroom's at the end of the hall, and the towels are in the cabinet under the sink. After that, we'll go pick up some greasy food to help your hangover-" He didn't get to finish, because as soon as he mentioned food, my stomach roiled and I ignored the pain in my head as I bolted to the bathroom. His laughter followed me.

Half an hour later, despite having to stop twice to pay homage to the porcelain god, I was showered and dressed in borrowed clothes. Well, a borrowed t-shirt, anyway – one that was big enough on me that looked like it could've been a tent. Emmett clapped me on the back and grinned as I stumbled, and then he handed me a glass of water and two ibuprofens. I swallowed them quickly, hoping that they'd stay down, and followed him out of the apartment.

And that is how, nearly an hour later, I was finally about to visit my parents for the first time in a year. We'd stopped along the way and picked up some salty fries and a watered down Coke for me, and I had to admit that my stomach was feeling infinitely better. Still a bit queasy, but at least I didn't feel like I was going to puke every time I turned my head. I had just gotten out of Emmett's jeep and closed the door when I heard my mother squeal.

"Edward?" I turned and watched her running towards me, and I could feel the idiotic smile that lit up my face.

"Hey, Mom," I laughed, stumbling a little bit when she launched herself into my open arms. I guess she'd missed me, because she squeezed me within an inch of my life. When had my mother gotten that strong? I wondered.

"Edward Anthony," she warned, pulling away from me slightly. "Don't you _dare_ ever stay away that long again!"

"No worries, Ma," Emmett began, grinning. "She's gone – for good this time." My mother's eyes darted back from my brother to me, and she stared for a moment. Then her face split into the same shit-eating grin that Emmett had inherited from her.

"Oh," she breathed, her smile faltering for a moment. "Are you upset? Do you-"

"Not in the least," I answered, cutting her off. Her smile was back in full force.

"Then this calls for a celebration! You know, I never liked that woman anyway." I barked out a surprised laugh and wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we walked up the path towards the house. "Any woman who's going to make you choose between her and your family just isn't worth a squirt of piss, in my book." Emmett roared with laughter, and I could feel my cheeks turning red. My mother didn't usually cuss. In my whole life, I could count on one hand the number of times I'd heard her utter a curse word.

When we got to the front porch, I realized that my father was standing by the door, waiting for us. We shared a smile, and then my mother extricated herself from my arms long enough for me to embrace my father.

"Son," he breathed. That one word held everything – sorrow, relief, joy. He didn't have to say anything else; I knew exactly how he felt. It cut deep, knowing how hard my parents had taken the forced separation.

"Hey, Dad. So mom tells me it's almost time for dinner?" I asked hopefully. He grinned and ushered me inside. I didn't even have to look to know that my mother was crying.

"It is indeed, son, it is indeed."

After one of the most amazing dinners I could remember having in a long time, we were all sitting around the dinner table nursing glasses of wine with a fabulous chocolate confection. The conversation had been lighthearted during the meal, but for some reason with the introduction of alcohol, things took a turn for the more serious.

"So, Edward," my mother began, eyeing me intently over the rim of her glass. "What exactly is going to happen with you and your soon-to-be ex-wife?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.

"I think your mother is asking if you've hired a lawyer yet," Dad explained, taking a bite of his dessert. "Esme, this dessert is fan_tastic_."

"I wish I could take credit for it," Mom answered, shaking her head. "This one's all Bella. And yes, Edward, that's exactly what I meant. Have you even considered the way you two might split all of your possessions – the cars, the condo?"

"She can have everything except my clothes, my car, and my piano," I said, shrugging. "And I'm going to make sure she signs something stating that once she has all everything, she can never come after me for more money. The condo alone is worth six figures – whether or not she wants to live there will be her problem." I didn't want for money. My trust fund alone was enough to last me the rest of my life, thanks to my parents. I'd been putting away most of my paychecks in the bank, since Tanya and I had long ago made an unspoken rule about spending our own money, and not each other's. She knew if she'd asked me to pay for something, I would've asked where it was going and why – and she would've had to explain her frequent hotel stays and meals for more than one person.

"Where are you going to live, if you give her the condo?" Emmett asked.

"I hadn't thought," I answered honestly.

"Why don't you come back here?" Mom asked, almost bouncing in her seat. "Your old room is still exactly as you left it, and God knows we'd love to have you back. I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind one more, would she, Carlisle?"

"I don't think she would," he replied easily.

"How's Goober doing, anyway?" Emmett asked, shoveling a huge forkful of chocolate into his mouth. "I haven't seen her around in a while."

"She's lovely, as ever," Mom said, smiling at him. "And I _know_ you haven't seen her in a while, because my grocery bill triples when you do!" Emmett grinned.

"That's because my goober loves me."

"No, it's because she's too nice to tell you no," Dad said, laughing and shaking his head. "You have to admit, Esme, when Emmett comes around, we each gain about ten extra pounds."

"That's because he begs her to make every dessert known to man – and as conscientious people who care about the wasting of food, we can't just let it rot. We are duty bound to consume it all."

"Hell yeah!" Emmett declared, glancing around. "Is she here right now? I bet she'd make me a pie, if she is." I frowned, looking between them. Who was Bella? Who was a goober? What the hell did any of this have to do with Emmett's eating habits? I must have spoken out loud, because my mother put her wine glass down and turned to me.

"Emmett calls Bella 'goober' – which she hates, by the way, but I'm sure you already knew that," she said with a pointed look in Emmett's direction. His only answer was to laugh and reach for another serving of the gooey chocolate dessert. "Bella is our chef, and also our personal shopper when it comes to food. Emmett normally comes around once a week to have dinner with us, and when he does, Bella goes overboard and makes enough food to feed an army. Sometimes we ask her not to come back for a day or so, since we have so many leftovers – but not often, since your brother can eat the entire family under the table just by himself."

"I'm a growing boy, Ma. I need to eat."

"Okay," I said slowly, processing that information. "I understand that she's your chef – but why would she be here right now?"

"Sometimes she stays here with us," Mom said, taking a sip of wine. "If she were here, we would have made her join us for dinner. She's a lovely girl and I enjoy her company – it gets so lonely here when your father goes away on business. We've been trying to convince her that she just needs to move in here with us, since she lives an hour away and that truck of hers isn't really reliable, but she's so stubborn! She keeps telling us that she feels like she'd be mooching off of us if she lived here, because she doesn't do much."

Dad barked out a laugh, and my eyebrows shot up. He shook his head. "She does enough. When she thinks we're not paying attention, she cleans."

"Isn't that part of her job?" I wondered aloud. "To keep her work space clean?"

"I'm not talking about the kitchen," he said. "She sneaks into other rooms and dusts, cleans windows, vacuums. We even got rid of the weekly maid service because Bella was doing it all herself."

"And she won't let us pay her for it."

"Pay her for it?" Dad snorted. "Hell, she won't even admit that she's the one doing it!"

"That's because she thinks of you guys as her own parents," Emmett piped up, not noticing when our parents' heads both whipped around and they stared at him. He continued to run his finger along his plate to gather up the remainder of the chocolate there.

"What?" Dad choked out. My eyes darted between him and mom. There were tears pooling in mom's eyes, and she had a shaky hand pressed to her chest above her heart. "Why would you say that?" Emmett finally looked up and looked confused.

"Because she told me that," he said slowly.

"When-"

"What? The goob and I can't have a heart to heart every now and then? She let me talk to her about-" his eyes darted to me, and I could feel my face heating up – "stuff, and she talked to me about stuff. She said she lost her dad a few months ago, and she's grateful to have you guys."

"Charlie _died_?" Dad asked, his eyes darting to mom. "Why didn't she tell us? She didn't take any time off of work or anything!"

"Oh that poor girl," Mom breathed, tears spilling down her face.

"You know how Bella is," Emmett said, shrugging. He licked the back of his fork clean. "She asked me not to tell you because she didn't want you to be upset. She thought you'd make her take time away from work, and she didn't want to do that – she said she wanted to feel as normal as possible."

"Did she at least get to go to the funeral?"

"Yeah, she went." He frowned and inspected his plate, which was now clean. Mom and Dad exchanged looks.

"What happened?"

"Her dad's wife made a huge scene about how Bella had abandoned him, and she wouldn't let her follow them to the cemetery to see him buried." I jumped when my mother smacked the table with her open palm.

"She did _what_?" I had never seen my mom look so angry – she was shaking. "She had no right to-"

"Why are we just now hearing about this?" Dad asked, putting a hand on my mom's arm to try and calm her. "Bella has seemed fine every time we've seen her, and I haven't seen anything in the papers."

"Her dad's wife didn't put anything in the papers because she thought that everyone who needed to know already knew. Bella wouldn't have even known if she hadn't gone over to the rez to visit him – she made him a pan of his favorite lasagna, and when she got there, Jake told her that her dad had died."

"Sue didn't even tell Bella?" My mom made no effort to stop her tears, and her face fell into her hands.

"Jake was pretty pissed at Sue when he realized that she hadn't told her," Emmett said, shrugging. "So was Seth. All the boys on the rez were, actually. Bella means a lot of a lot of people."

"Except for Sue, apparently," I observed. Mom's head popped up, and I was startled by the emotion on her face.

"That's because Sue is a heartless witch. Wait until you meet Bella, Edward. She is the sweetest, most amazing person you'd ever want to meet."

"And she's the best cook on the face of the planet," Emmett interjected. "You know – except for Ma."

"Don't try to backpedal, young man," Dad snapped, though he was smiling.

"He's right – Bella's a better cook than me," Mom said, grinning. "And we need to do something nice for her. She shouldn't have suffered through that ordeal alone. Carlisle, do you think that if we tell her that Edward is moving in that she'd finally give in and stay with us? We'd need extra help to cook for him, and it'll take more of her time."

"We can only ask, sweetheart," he said, pressing a kiss to my mother's forehead. I felt a twinge in my chest. Tanya and I had never been like my parents… why hadn't I noticed it before I'd married her? Ever since I was a little boy, I'd known that I wanted a relationship like the one my parents had with each other. They were always give and take and compromise and love – Tanya hadn't ever given or compromised on anything – and I had known two weeks into the marriage that what I'd thought was love was only lust and youthful infatuation.

"Are you staying tonight, Edward?" Mom asked, glancing down at her watch. I looked down at my own – how had it gotten to be ten thirty already?

"I was thinking I would, if it wasn't too much-"

"Young man, you had better not be about to ask your _parents_ if it's too much trouble to stay at their house! It's your house too. Always has been." Dad grinned, and I felt myself grinning back.

"What about me?" Emmett pouted. Mom laughed and got up, moving to give him a hug.

"You stay over all the time, Emmy bear," she said. Emmett's face turned red, but he smiled. Mom used to call him that all the time when we were kids, and he'd always hated it. "Besides, when you boys wake up in the morning, Bella will be here with breakfast, and then you can go help Edward get his things."

"Breakfast!" Emmett was almost squealing. I snorted. Who the hell was this Bella chick, and why did she have such a hold on my family? "Why don't we all go to bed now, and that way we can wake up faster?"

"Just like on Christmas, right Em?" Dad laughed, shaking his head when Emmett nodded.

"Seriously?" I couldn't help the incredulity that had snuck into my voice. My mom laughed and hugged me.

"Goodnight, baby," she breathed in my ear before releasing me. "It's so good to have you back." She smiled and patted my cheek once before leaving the room. Dad was next to embrace me.

"When you taste Bella's vanilla bean French toast, you'll understand," he said. He patted me on the shoulder and followed the same direction Mom had gone.

"What the hell?" I asked, turning to Emmett. As soon as Dad was gone, Emmett had attacked the plate of chocolate that was left, shoveling a huge forkful into his mouth.

"Bella's awesome," he said through a mouthful. "I don't worry about Mom and Dad eating right, or being lonely or anything when she's here. She's amazing – you know, except at Mario Kart, and then she sucks."

"I thought she was just their personal chef. Why would she play games with you?"

"Because she's awesome, just like I said. She's probably the closest chick friend I have right now. Oh, man – we'll have to go out drinking, she's funny as hell when she gets drunk!"

I couldn't help it – I stared at him. "Are you trying to get into her pants, or something?"

"Nah," he denied, shaking his head. "I tried that about a month after she started working here, but she wasn't interested. Besides, it would've been creepy – like being with my sister."

"Okay," I said slowly, frowning. He laughed.

"Just go get some rest, okay? When you sink your teeth into that first bite, you'll be hooked, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

**BPOV**

"Ow, shit!" I swore, pulling my hand away from the stove and sucking my finger into my mouth. Damn it! I hadn't burned myself in a long time. If that was any indicator of how my day was going to go, I might as well just go ahead and shoot myself right now.

"Good morning, Bella." I turned and smiled at Carlisle, who was running a hand through his hair to try and smooth it down. I suppressed a giggle. It didn't work well. His unruly blonde hair never sat exactly the way he wanted it to – but Esme had told me that she loved his hair. My friend Rosalie called it 'sex hair' and said she wondered if the good doctor realized that he looked perpetually shagged. I suspected that was one of the reasons that Esme liked it so much.

"Morning!" I chirped, pouring him a cup of coffee and placing it on the breakfast bar. He sat down and scrubbed at his face tiredly with his hands. "Rough night?"

"Do you remember Esme and I telling you about our son Edward?"

"Yes," I replied, flipping a piece of French toast on the griddle. Of course I remembered Edward – the absentee son whose wife had forbidden him to speak to his family, and subsequently broke both of his parents' hearts.

"He's here – he came home last night." I turned and smiled at him.

"Oh, Carlisle! That's wonderful! So his wife had a change of heart, then? Should I start preparing for two more?" His smile wavered, and I felt my heart stutter in my chest at the brief look of sadness.

"No – she left him. He's here alone."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Don't be – she was a bitch," Emmett said as he walked in and nicked a warm slice of French toast off of the plate I'd been piling them onto. I smacked his hand with the spatula, and he grinned. "Damn, goober! It was only one piece!"

"But I know how one piece turns into three, and then three turns into fifteen, and then your poor parents don't get any!" Carlisle laughed and took a sip of his coffee. Esme walked into the room just in time to see me shaking the spatula at her son in warning, and she giggled. She sat down next to her husband and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. I sighed. I loved watching the two of them – they were so loving and considerate of each other, it never failed to give me butterflies.

"You're late getting up this morning, sweetheart," Carlisle told her, taking the coffee cup I offered and handing it to her.

"I have a bit of a headache, and I was going to lie down for a while longer – but then I smelled breakfast, and I knew that if I smelled it, our son did, too. If I want some, I have to get down here. I've learned that."

"I wouldn't have minded making another batch," I protested, pouring her a glass of juice. She smiled her thanks at me and took a sip. Esme was much like me when it came to breakfast – she loved her coffee, but if she was eating something hot, she needed a cold drink to go with it as well. "If you want to go lie back down-"

"I'm fine," she promised, smiling sweetly at me. She leaned over and pretended to whisper – "Just make sure you give me the first piece, instead of Emmett."

"She would never! My goober loves me too much to play favorites with my mom! Right, goob?" he asked, turning to me and giving me puppy dog eyes. I giggled. He was too cute for his own good.

"Sorry, Em," I said, sprinkling powdered sugar over a plate of French toast and handing it to his mom, who smiled triumphantly. "I love you to death, but your mom isn't feeling well."

"And she signs her paycheck," Carlisle pointed out. Emmett pouted as I slid the next plate over to his dad.

"Seriously, goob? I'm last? Where's the love? You see if I try to hook you up with any more of my friends." I rolled my eyes and handed him a plate that had three times the amount of food as what I'd given his parents.

"Please, do _not_ set me up with any more of your so-called friends," I begged him. "The last one had octopus hands, and I had to use my pepper spray for the first time."

"You mean Marcus?" he asked through a mouth full of food. "Party foul, dude. I'll have to kick his ass for that. He knew there was a no-touch rule."

"You set Bella up with one of your friends and then told him there was a no-touch rule?" Carlisle asked, his voice full of amusement.

"Goober is my little sis. Gotta look out for her." I swear my heart felt like it had swollen to fill my entire chest. I leaned over the breakfast bar and planted a quick kiss on Emmett's cheek before piling on more bacon. His entire face lit up like a Christmas tree, and his mom laughed. "So all I have to do is tell you how much I love you, and I get more food?" he rubbed his hands together, and I giggled.

"What smells so good?" I looked up and froze, pinned to the spot by a pair of brilliant green eyes. Sweet mother of God, where had he come by that color? Carlisle's were ice blue, and Esme and Emmett had the same warm brown. I realized after a moment that I'd been staring, and I cleared my throat.

"Um, vanilla bean French toast. Would you like some?" I wasn't really sure what to call him – Edward seemed too forward. Maybe I should call him sir like I had with Emmett and Carlisle when I'd first started here? I wasn't sure. Those eyes had thrown me off. I turned back to the stove and continued cooking the French toast.

"Bella, this is my son Edward. Edward, this is our Bella," Carlisle said. The pride that radiated in his voice when he said Edward's name made my heart melt for him. It was so obvious that he was happy to have his family back together.

"Hey, Bella," he said, sitting down on the other side of his mother. Sweet baby Jesus, his voice was smooth and low and I swear to god it shot straight down to my girly parts. I could feel my face turning red. "I've heard a lot about you and your cooking."

I turned around and put a plate in front of him without looking up. "I hope it wasn't all bad," I quipped. "Would you like coffee or juice?"

"Both, thanks." I turned my back to him and prepared the drinks. I nearly dropped the coffee when I heard a low moan. "You guys weren't kidding," he said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath – in through the nose, out through the mouth, Bella! "This is amazing!"

"Thank you," I managed to force out, handing him his drinks. I turned back to the stove and grabbed the plate with the bacon on it, and placed it on the bar in front of Esme.

"Hey," Emmett whined. "Why'd you put it in front of her? She doesn't even_ like_ bacon!"

"I thought I'd give your father and your brother the option of having some before you inhale it all," I pointed out, smiling at him.

"But – you're my baby sis, remember?" He batted his eyes at me, and I laughed. I put a little more bacon on his plate and he grinned. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"So when are you boys going to pick up Edward's things?" Esme asked, sipping her juice. Emmett shrugged.

"Right after breakfast, I guess."

"Do you boys need help?" Carlisle asked. "I could rent a truck, and I could come with you."

"That would be great, Dad," Edward agreed. I finished the last batch of French toast and turned the oven off.

"Bella, that reminds me," Carlisle began. I put the plate down on the bar, smiling as Emmett attacked it, and looked back at him. "Edward is going to be staying with us again, so we'll need you to start planning for him at mealtimes." I nodded, mentally going over the lunch menu to try and remember if I had enough supplies.

"And since it's more work," Esme began, "We'd like to revisit the idea of you moving in here. Especially since we know it's such a long commute, and you don't let us pay you enough for gas and rent and whatnot."

"If the goob moves in here, I'm moving back home," Emmett declared. Carlisle smacked his arm.

"We're trying to convince her to say yes, not give her reasons to say no, Emmett! She doesn't want to be tied to the kitchen all day!"

I bit my bottom lip to hide the smile that was trying to surface. Since my dad had passed away, there was really no reason for me to stay in the house I'd been renting. I'd only chosen it to be near him, anyway, and since Sue was the only one living in his house and I didn't plan on ever visiting her, it wasn't a bad idea. It would be nice to be able to sleep until seven every day instead of having to get up at four thirty to make it here by six – Carlisle's work schedule fluctuated, but usually Esme's was static and she left the house at eight thirty on the dot. I had to have breakfast and lunch ready when she left, so she'd have it for the day. Then after they were gone, I'd begin preparations for dinner.

"Bella, please," Esme pleaded, her eyes wide. "It would mean so much to us if you'd move in here. You could have any room you wanted, and we'd make sure that Emmett wouldn't bother you." I laughed at that.

"Emmett doesn't bother me. I like to cook for people who enjoy it." Why did I suddenly feel shy? Was it Edward's presence that was doing it?

"All right, let's do this shit!" Emmett practically yelled, pumping a fist in the air. "We'll go get Eddie's stuff, and I'll bring some of my stuff too!"

"Don't call me Eddie," Edward said, frowning.

"And don't curse in this house, damn it!" Carlisle laughed. I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped me. Carlisle and Esme were happy people anyway, but having Edward back seemed to have made them almost euphoric. My heart swelled with happiness for them. They were the kindest people I'd ever met, and they deserved every bit of happiness that came their way.

"Quiet!" Esme shrieked. "Bella, I'm begging you now. I _need_ another woman in this house to even out the testosterone! Please!" I bit my lip and nodded slowly. Emmett let out a loud whoop and ran to me, picking me up and spinning me around. Carlisle grinned and Esme clapped her hands together. Edward just watched me with an expression I couldn't place.

"Emmett, please put me down!" I gasped. "I need to breathe!" He sat me down on my feet as gently as he could.

"Sorry, goober." He sounded anything but. "All right, bro – let's go get your shit!"

**EPOV**

On my second morning of glorious freedom, I awoke to my gargantuan brother knocking on my bedroom door so hard that I thought he might knock it down.

"Goober's here – I smell bacon! Wake up, retread!" And then his footsteps pounded down the hallway, leaving me in peace again. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, trying to get my bearings. I hadn't woken up in this room in nearly seven years – I'd been married and living with Tanya for three of those years, and had lived in a college dorm before that. I'd stayed over for holidays when I'd been in college, but I had usually fallen asleep somewhere else in the house. An overwhelming sense of peace flooded over me – I'd begged Tanya when we'd gotten married to move into a wing of this house with my parents, but she'd wanted a place of our own. I understood that, and at the time had finally acquiesced to her demands, but damn it all if I hadn't resented her for it. I was closer to my family than most of my friends had ever been, and I hadn't wanted to leave them.

I stood up and stretched before heading into the bathroom. I showered and shaved quickly, and then opened the closet – which made me smile like crazy. All of my favorite clothes were still hanging, smelling like they'd been freshly washed. Tanya had fallen in love with my style of dress when we'd first gotten together, although when we'd married, she'd told me that band t-shirts were undignified – so, wanting to please my new wife, I'd left them at home. I threw on a gray Beastie Boys t-shirt and pulled on a pair of jeans before stepping into the hallway.

Emmett had been right – I could smell the bacon wafting through the air. That was pretty damned amazing, considering that I was on the third floor – on the opposite side of the house as the kitchen was. How long had she been cooking, that the smell had reached my room? I practically ran down the stairs, taking two at a time, and skidded to a halt when I finally rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Standing next to my brother was a petite brunette. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun with loose tendrils curling around her face and neck. Her face was currently lit up with a smile, and when she giggled, my world tilted on its axis. I wanted to kick myself – I'd just gotten out of a shitty marriage; I didn't need to start boning every attractive girl I saw. Especially not one that would be around for any measurable amount of time – this girl was off limits because my family was already attached to her.

"What smells so good?" I asked finally. She turned around and looked at me, and her cheeks flushed pink. _Goddamn. _That was possibly the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Jesus – where had they been hiding this girl? I sat down and listened as she interacted with my family, just like she belonged there.

When she'd finally agreed to stay, my family had been overjoyed. I was happy for my parents, because obviously they adored her. Emmett liked her too, so that was another positive mark for her. And I had to agree with them – the woman was a magnificent cook. The French toast that she'd made melted in my mouth, and the bacon was cooked exactly the way I liked it.

After breakfast was over, Emmett took me back to the condo. Thankfully Tanya wasn't there, and I rushed to grab all of my clothes before she got back. It didn't look like she'd been there since our dinner, but I wasn't taking any chances. Emmett helped me shove my clothes down into garbage bags. I grabbed the two photos of my family that had been hanging on the wall in the hallway, and hastened out of there as fast as my legs could carry me.

Emmett grinned at me as we started back.

"So?"

"So what, asshole?" I asked, laughing. His grin got bigger.

"My goober. What'd you think of her?"

"Why do you keep calling her _your_ goober?" I wondered aloud. "Seriously, did you lie to Mom and Dad last night when you said you weren't interested in her?"

"She's my goober because I met her first," he explained, glancing over at me. "I'm the one who introduced her to the 'rents."

"How did you meet her?"

"I went to a party that Jasper's girlfriend hosted, and Bella was the one that catered it. I asked about the food, met the girl, and the rest was history."

"You went to a party that was catered? How'd you get invited to something so fancy?"

"Jasper. Which reminds me – we need to hang out soon. You'll like Alice – she can be annoying as hell, but she's just as sweet as Bella, and just as loyal too."

"Loyal?"

"I went out with this girl once – can't remember her name, but I met her at a bar. We hooked up once, and after that, every time we went out, this girl was all over my junk. When Ali and Bella found out, they wanted to rip her hair out and feed it to her – and they made sure that the next time she came around, they were there, too."

"What did they do?"

"They were all up on my junk," he laughed, shaking his head. "Which actually worked out for Bella too, since there were about fifty guys waiting to try and get with her."

"And she wasn't interested in any of them?" Perhaps I was a little bit too interested in his answer, but I couldn't just _not_ ask the question.

"Nah. She's too good to date someone she met in a bar." I gaped at him.

"Holy shit, you _do _love her!" I hadn't meant to yell, but damn! His face turned pink.

"No – at least, not in the way you think I do. Seriously, she's just like the sister we never had, Edward. I would never jeopardize that." I stared at him.

"What kind of freaky-ass voodoo does this chick have over our family?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mom loves her, Dad loves her, you love her-"

"Therefore it's only a matter of time until you love her, too," he finished.

"I don't know about that," I hedged cautiously.

"Famous last words, dude."


End file.
